Away From Home
by Scuttlebutt Inc
Summary: Hibari spends some time with Dino in Italy after an assassination attempt. Yaoi, D18.
1. Chapter 1

Tsuna was pale when he stood at the head of the mahogany meeting table and announced that there had been an attempt on the head of the Cavallone family a few days prior. There was no word yet on identifying the family that had put the hit out but it didn't look good for mafia relations in northern Italy at the moment. Dino had been in the hospital and was scheduled to be released in a few days. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, continued on to say that he was considering taking a trip to --

"I'm going," Hibari interrupted, his voice and expression just as stonily unaffected as always when the eyes of the entire family turned to his corner of the table.

"W-well, you--" Tsuna began, clearly surprised by Hibari's words. Of course he'd been the Cavallone's student and as such, were Hibari anyone else, it wouldn't have seemed odd to hear his determination. But this was the ex-prefect of Namimori, the Vongola's Cloud, with arguably less concern for his fellow humankind than even Mukuro. "The situation there is--"

"I'm. Going." Hibari's intense, slanted eyes met Tsuna's from the length of the table and the Tenth knew it would be true whether or not he went as Tsuna's body guard or simply shirked his duties and disappeared.

"R-right," Tsuna nodded, understanding there was no use in arguing. "Very well... Please keep us informed of the situation and be safe. Take someone with you. Kusokabe-san, maybe?"

Hibari just nodded once and stood, taking his leave in the middle of the meeting and ignoring Gokudera's outraged shouts after him that they weren't done yet. Yamamoto laughed and remarked on what a good friend Hibari was. It earned him a tonfa to the head as Hibari walked out.

Hibari's connections, in combination with those he earned by virtue of being a Vongola guardian, managed to secure him a private plane-- a preferable alternative to packing himself and his right hand onto a commercial flight full of old people and squalling children.

It was a long flight and though Tetsu seemed interested in engaging him in conversation, Hibari announced that he would be sleeping and was not to be woken until they landed. Tetsu sighed as his boss instantly fell into slumber.

A car met them at the airport and it was late in the evening when they finally reached the Cavallone estate. Romario was there to let him in, the man haggard and rough with stubble and red in the eyes.

"The boss came home this afternoon," he told the travelers as their things were taken away to their rooms. "He's still sleeping."

"Please inform Tetsu of the current situation," Hibari told him, pausing to inspect himself in a gaudy Italian mirror. The place was a horror show of marble and hideous flower arrangements. It couldn't have been further from Hibari's own minimalist, Japanese abode. He frowned at himself -- rumpled from travel but at least well rested. "Tomorrow the real investigation will begin. Where is he?"

Romario shifted uneasily, eyes drifting upward as he worried the back of his head with a well-calloused hand. "He's-- ah... upstairs. In the master bedroom. Third on the left, but, Hibari-san.. sir. Perhaps your visit could wait until the morning? Master Dino... he--"

Hibari didn't even bother cutting him off with words, simply turned away. "Don't wait up, Tetsu," he called over his shoulder as he ascended the swirling marble of the staircase.

The two right hands shared a bewildered glance.

At the door Romario had described, Hibari met a woman with a silver cart which housed what must be the boss's evening meal. Her surprised expression indicated that she must have been house staff for the recognition that came over her as she looked upon Hibari.

"I'll see that he eats," he said simply and he let himself in quietly, without knocking, and drew the cart in after him.

The front room which served as a sort of private office was, unsurprisingly, empty, the Cavallone boss more occupied with healing than signing papers.

Even as Hibari entered the bedroom, there was no movement from within. The form half covered with wrinkled sheets and a comforter tossed aside was still, blond hair a mess about his pillow. Hibari could see some of the extent of Dino's injuries, his torso swathed in bandages, one arm bound to his chest to keep it immobile. His face was bruised, more purple than not, a split lip and a gauze taped over one eye completed the look.

The room was dim and the door that Hibari opened without invitation cast a long stretch of yellow light into the room. He paused, looking in, considering. Wondering if he might have made a mistake in coming. But Hibari Kyouya rarely, if ever made mistakes. The cart was perfectly silent, well oiled as he pushed it across the ornate oriental rugs -- again so gaudy, so ugly, so Italian -- that covered the polished floors. He left it at the end of the bed and stood over Dino's sleeping body, looking over him. The man who dared to call himself Hibari's mentor, as tenderized as meat. Perhaps Romario had been right, that he aught to leave Dino to a night's sleep. Maybe then the thoughts he'd slept through on the plane would be gone and the following day, he could simply go about family business, the business of punishment -- rather than the business of revenge.

But Dino stirred, as though Hibari's dark thoughts were audible, a small, stringy groan slipping past dry lips and he turned in his half-conscious state, away from the injured shoulder, but onto some other hidden wound that left a hiss through his teeth and his eyes, red, bruised dark, fluttering.

"If your doctors knew you better, they would have put you in traction for your own good," Hibari said quietly, as though he weren't talking to Dino at all. And perhaps he wasn't, since he wasn't really awake.

"Nngh," was his only answer, before the young Cavallone rolled toward the edge of the bed with all the determination of the accidentally self-destructive.

Hibari's eyes widened slowly because surely he wouldn't -- after all the man barely had the strength to breathe from the looks of him -- but no, there he went. And before he could think better of it, Hibari rushed forward, half-scrambling on to the bed to catch Dino's shoulders before he could go toppling over the other side and undo thousands of euros of medical treatment. "Idiot," he hissed with irritation.

"Kyouya," Dino breathed, and for a beat, he stilled beneath Hibari's hands. Then, as though it had only just occurred to his body that he ought to be in pain -- particularly with Hibari's none-too-gentle grip -- his eyes flew open, lips parting in a gasp. "Kyouya," he said again. "Ah-- _ow_."

The younger man's hands released him quite abruptly, letting him sag back to the down comforter. He sat back on his haunches, fixing Dino with his usual critical expression. "One broken arm wasn't enough, apparently."

Dino's hooded eyes swept the room as though looking for others, finally met Hibari's, ignoring his words but offering a question. "I thought Tsuna wouldn't be able to spare anyone these days. Nngh... help me sit up, dammit." There was no bite in the Cavallone's words, only exhaustion, peppered, perhaps with just a little bit of humiliation to have his one-time student see him this way.

Hibari snorted faintly but he had brought Dino's dinner so he offered him a hand in sitting up, pushing several thick, embroidered pillows behind the battered mafioso to support him. "Can you imagine that herbivore trying to stop me?" the Cloud Guardian scoffed and then before Dino could question him, he continued, "Discipline is my specialty, lest you forget. It would be an embarrassment to the family for his 'brother's' assailants to go unpunished."

Dino's eyes flashed as they caught and held Hibari's. "Kyouya. You can't go solo -- they'll be waiting for retaliation. They'll be ready for it." He flinched, shifting to find some way to sit that didn't pain him.

"Tetsu came with me," Hibari replied easily. "And I'd venture a guess that your men might be interested in assisting me. Would you deny them that?"

"Looking for revenge is a good way to get themselves killed," Dino shot back, lifting a hand to press at his temples as though warding off a headache, or perhaps nursing one that had lasted a little too long.

The raven haired young man frowned at him for a long moment but eventually he just shrugged. Dino wasn't exactly in the best shape for discussing politics -- and nor was he in the best state to do anything to stop him when his pursuit began. He hesitated, eying the cart at the end of the bed. "I brought your dinner," he finally said, realizing belatedly that he was kneeling on the edge of Dino's bed. He regained his footing and drew the cart closer.

"So you did." A quiet sigh told Hibari that Dino would gratefully take the change of subject, would perhaps be able to relax in the face of such mundane conversation as one might have over a meal. "I hope you didn't scare Giulia too badly."

"She seemed to know me. Otherwise I would have fired her for letting me in to your room. I could have easily been an assassin." He lifted the try atop the cart and as he expected, there was a steaming bowl of soup there. He stared at it for a very long moment, briefly looking at Dino and then back at the soup as though it were challenging him, as though he were posturing for a battle to the death. He licked his lower lip slowly and again, considered leaving. Perhaps all the way back to Japan.

"Are you going to hand it over, or are you going to search it for explosives first?" Dino teased, a laugh that turned into a cough which he quickly smothered with his free hand. Then, "Don't worry. I'm sure Romario or someone else is nearby. I won't drop it."

Hibari scowled at him bitterly for another long moment. This is what he'd come to do though and he refused to second guess himself, to let his good judgment cloud his... whatever it was that had made him walk out of that meeting and the next day get on a plane. He rolled the tray closer and took the spoon in hand. When he held it to Dino's mouth, it was with a steady, even grip but where his hands were ready with kindness, his eyes were filled with murder. "If you tell anyone. I'll bite you to death."

Dino frowned, the twitch of his lips clearly indicating he was torn between amusement and chagrin. "My first meal in a week that isn't through a tube." He sighed. It was a fair enough trade. He wouldn't tell anyone that Hibari had held the spoon and Hibari would tell no one that he'd been spoon-fed like a invalid child. He opened his mouth, reluctant but obedient.

For long minutes, Hibari said nothing as he carefully spooned hot soup between Dino's lips. Romario must have moved closer because there was a dignity to him as he ate, in spite of his bruised appearance. No soup dribbled down his chin nor did he accidentally knock the spoon out of Hibari's hand. The threat of harm faded from his eyes and they unfocused somewhat as he watched Dino eat, lips in a pursed frown. Pensive. Quietly angry. "Tell me what happened."

Dino sighed, licked at the corner of his mouth and avoided Hibari's eyes. "They must have been tracking my movements for months. It was the first time I'd been away from my guard since I've been back in Italy. Romario and I-- went driving." He laughed a little. "Serves me right, hm. Pretending to have a normal life for just one afternoon?"

Hibari said nothing, only fed a few more mouthfuls to Dino solemnly. "What did they break? What was the damage?"

"Bullet grazed the bone," Dino nodded down at his bound arm. "Wrecked my favorite car. Romario walked away from the crash, took half of them out before the cavalry arrived. He's-- he's taking it pretty hard."

Hibari sighed, long-suffering and fed Dino quietly until the Italian waved him away. He set the bowl lightly aside and sat on the edge of Dino's bed, looking at him, calculating, quiet in that intimidating way he had. "Vandalism," he said finally, softly and lifted a hand. His fingertips brushed lightly over the gauze that swathed Dino's arm, always so deceptively delicate. A pretty, almost soft-looking wrapping for the ferocity within. Soft, tapered fingers. "You won't lose it? The arm?"

"No," Dino confirmed, not bothering to hide the relief in his voice. "I'll need physical therapy, and... it'll take a while, but... I'll be fine." A beat, then reluctantly, "You'll want to talk to Romario. I think he knows who it was. I don't remember much and we haven't had the chance to talk since he brought me home."

Hibari nodded. "Tetsu is being debriefed by him. I'll get more details in the morning." He paused, considered. "I suppose you need sleep."

"I suppose so," Dino echoed, but made no move to lay back down or close his eyes or tell Hibari to leave. "I haven't done much more than sleep for the last week," he added, somewhat petulantly.

Something warmed the edges of Hibari's eyes, something that was similar to a smile. Dino was exhausted with healing now but he already could anticipate that Romario would be fretting over him within a week, trying to convince his energetic boss to stay in bed. "And I missed it -- you being quiet for a whole week. What a shame."

Dino did smile, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a sort of fond amusement. "You were the one who woke me up."

"So I was," Hibari admitted with a brief shuttering of eyes. Then his gaze was looking over Dino's face in the dim light and he reached out again, this time for blond hair. His fingers sifted through Dino's hair, moving it away from his cheek. Stitches. He looked on silently for another moment and a single finger touched the sutures very lightly, very carefully. "When Namimori is vandalized," he said softly, "I am careful to record every detail. To make sure that the punishment fits the crime."

It would have been easy, to tease Hibari, to question whether he was comparing the Cavallone Tenth to a school building, but in truth, they both knew he was, and they both knew that it meant... something. Dino closed his eyes, trusting, as the younger man's fingers searched the battleground of his face. "Almost lost the eye," he admitted, turning his face so that Hibari's touch grazed the edge of the gauze. "It will probably scar."

"Hm. I suppose you want me to tell you you'll still be beautiful." When Dino slit an eye, Hibari was smirking just faintly. Mocking him. His hand passed over Dino's eyes and his touch traveled from gauze to skin, brushing over his bruises and scrapes with impossible gentleness. "At least it wasn't your tattoo," was the best condolence he could come up with and even that was half a tease.

"I think I'll get another." Dino didn't call him on the tease-- on the gentleness either. "Something on the other arm, when it heals. Any ideas?"

"Hm..." Hibari considered, tracing the edge of an ugly purple and green bruise that marked Dino's temple. "Perhaps... butterflies? Kittens? Something to fit your personality. That's what tattoos are about, correct?"

The young Cavallone gave an unseemly snort, lifting his good hand to swat Hibari's away. "That's right, Kyouya. If I recall, however, it's you who has the weakness to cute things." Dino gave a pointed glanced to the tiny bird nuzzled in the back of Hibari's collar.

Hibari was smiling before he could think better of it. A real, genuine smile -- if small, if coy, the smile of a sly cat. "I suppose perhaps I do," he answered in surprising honesty, in an unusual acceptance of any appraisal that Dino gave him. What had he meant to do, coming here like this? Revenge, of course. Punishment, discipline. But there was more to it than that, far more too it. Perhaps he'd intended to accost Dino physically at first sight. How dare he nearly get himself killed when there was still all this unresolved tension between them. It would have been a lot simpler to do it that way, no words or eye contact, nice and straightforward, the way Hibari preferred it. But as brutalized as he was, even Hibari couldn't bring himself to inflict new pain upon the injured mafioso. And the relief he found himself experiencing with the teases shared between them, knowing that Dino wasn't crippled or brain damaged or -- or dead. He hovered close, too close for Hibari. One hand lifted and Dino's eyes followed his fingers as they slowly, gracefully lifted to his lips, a single pale fingertip touching oh so lightly the still faintly swollen split at one corner.

For a long breath, Dino said nothing, did nothing, stayed as still as a child willing a butterfly -or a small bird- into his palm. A faint shiver slid across the mafioso's shoulders, and he breathed almost shakily through his open mouth. Hibari's hand moved away. "Kyouya..." he began. And then, hesitating, as though perhaps he'd meant to protest, but instead he said, "Why did you really come?"

Hibari sat back again and folded his hands in his lap with poise. The smile faded but his face was not unkind -- they were distinctions Dino knew now, like reading in an entirely different language. The language of Hibari was fraught with subtlety -- and danger if misread. "I came," he said slowly and reached back to scratch Hibird's head with a single finger. "Because if you had died, I would have had to kill you."

Dino smiled, translating, then answered, his voice as gentle as Hibari's hands had been. "So... then what's the course of action if I only 'almost' die?"

A long pause, Hibari looking off to the side as he stroked Hibird's head thoughtfully. "I'm still considering that alternative," he finally said. It was strange not to have the answers instantly, not even ones that he held close and unseen. Past needing to be here, everything in him demanding to be here, he had no answers. Perhaps if the man he loomed over wasn't as fragile as the tiny bird under his finger, he might have had better answers. "Heal faster and I suppose we'll see."

Dino laughed, a quiet, shallow laugh that didn't disturb his injured body, but no less sincere in its sentiment. It was, perhaps, presuming too much, but that didn't stop him from reaching out for the hand that lay idle on Hibari's knee, taking hold of it, with even a bit more strength than Hibari might have given him credit for. "Don't get yourself killed tomorrow, and maybe we will," he agreed.

For long moments, Hibari allowed it and looked down at their fingers resting against one another. He turned his hand over under Dino's. Palm to palm. His thumb brushed slow and soft over the top of the tattoo on the back of the other's hand.

"I'll wait," he finally said. "We'll wait. When you're healed, we'll discipline together. You don't need me to protect you."

"No, I don't," Dino agreed. "Good. Good." He squeezed at Hibari's hand once more, then let it go, fussing with the comforter instead. "I'm glad you came, Kyouya. It's good. To have you here."

"Mm." He smoothed his slacks. "You should sleep." He rearranged Dino's pillows and let him sink down into a lying position again. Then he gently picked up the tiny yellow bird from his collar and placed it in Dino's hair. Hibird chirped once and started nesting, making himself comfortable. "In case you decide to roll off again," Hibari explained. There was a high-backed velvety chair at Dino's bed side. He moved to it and settled in the same as Hibird had.

Dino didn't need protecting. He didn't need Hibari to stay. He didn't even need someone to feed him or fluff his pillows when it came right down to it. It was a good thing then, that Hibari Kyouya didn't much care what the Cavallone did or didn't need.

And anyway, what was the point of being a mafia don, if Dino didn't at least once in a while get something he _wanted_.

"Goodnight, Kyouya. I'll see you in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2

When word was received back in Japan from the Cloud Guardian that he would be remaining in Italy for an unknown duration of time, no one was quite sure what to make of it. Gokudera raged, calling it insurrection, that (though Tsuna had not given them) he was disobeying orders. The chagrined Tenth insisted that they would be fine without Hibari for a little while and with a casual compliment to Gokudera's own strength, the right hand was completely undone. And besides, reasoned Yamamoto, perhaps Hibari himself would be growing stronger if he was planning to stay until Dino was back on his feet. The Cavallone boss was his mentor after all. Reborn remained ambivalent on the subject, shrugging casually and commenting about the value of recreational time taken when it was appropriate.

Hibari gave Kusakabe the option of getting back on the jet and heading back to Japan but Tetsu wasn't adverse to the idea of a vacation. And besides, taking some time to do in depth investigation into the attack and formulate a well planned retaliation wasn't a bad idea. Dino's staff was delighted to have the two 'handsome young house guests'. Their boss's bachelor lifestyle must have been boring, Hibari could only guess, since they always seemed particularly delighted on the occasions that the Vongola had come to visit in the past. Hibari and Tetsu were each given a lavish room and as he hung up his clothes (he would have to buy more or have them sent over) he looked around at the eye soring decor and wondered if he would be able to survive what promised to be months of Dino's recovery.

Much to Romario's relief, Hibari was interested in lying low for the first few days. Dino mostly slept or was in a pain-killer induced stupor and his staff was constantly tending to him creating a bustle that Hibari wasn't fond of. Dino had almost begun to wonder if he'd been forgotten when his door opened and he heard the younger man's polite but firm voice.

"I'll take it to him. Thank you."

"Will you be taking lunch with Master Dino, sir?" His cook.

He could almost hear the thoughtfulness that must have passed over Hibari's face. "That would be acceptable."

"I'll have your meal sent up as well, then, sir," Vittore answered, the last Dino heard before the door closed behind him and Hibari's footsteps carried him into the room.

Dino smiled a quiet greeting and set aside the book he'd picked during his convalescence. "Lunch already?"

"Apparently so," Hibari replied, tray in hand as he approached the bed. Dino was well kempt, he noticed, for someone who was on bed rest. His pajamas were always clean and his hair brushed. It was a good thing -- Hibari's aversion to the slovenly was nothing short of spite. Perhaps that's why Dino did it. He set the tray on the bed side table and removed the silver bell. "Solid food. It looks like you're going to make it after all."

Dino glanced over the slices of dark bread, the wedge of soft cheese and the two halves of a ripe apple. "I'm still waiting for the day that Vittore finds me fit enough to enjoy pasta again. I'll be skin and bones on this sort of diet..."

Hibari arched a brow. "Eat that sort of food while you're on bed rest and you'll have the build of most of the dons here in no time." He slid the tray into Dino's lap.

"Can you imagine me with a belly?" Dino asked, laughed. He nodded gratefully, settling the tray into place, and surveyed his options. No spoons today -- nothing to give away the shakes that took hold of his limbs even now, when he held a hand aloft for more than a moment, no reason to ask for Hibari's help. lifted the apple to his mouth, bit a large hungry bite.

His guest poured him a glass of water without being asked, rolling his eyes at the idea of a plump, pot-bellied Dino. "Don't think I'll stay around if you do," he warned. "None of that hideous jewelry, either." There came a knock at the door and Vittore handed him a tray of his own which he thanked her for and shut the door behind him. When he sat down at Dino's bed side with his own meal, he revealed it and blinked in confusion for a moment. It was... sushi. To an effect. There was rice and fish of some nature, some of it wrapped into rolls with not nori but something leafy and green. In one that should have housed something like masago or tobiko, there was caviar. "Your staff is very... thoughtful."

Dino glanced over at Hibari's tray and wrinkled his nose. "There are some kinds of fusion cuisine that should really be left alone." He stole a glance at the tiny turtle tucked atop the neighboring pillows. "Enzio will eat it if you don't."

"Mm." Hibari inspected the imitation of nigiri, unsure of what sort of fish it was. It was cooked, which he found to be a better option for who knew if they would have chosen sashimi grade. He picked up the chopsticks and tasted it. Shrugged. "It's not sushi. But its edible." He paused and eyed the caviar. "Except perhaps that."

"_I'll_ eat that, if you don't want it," Dino remarked cheerfully. "It's an acquired taste." He didn't wait for an answer, however, before picking up the cheese knife and cutting thin, almost perfect slivers to lay across the bread, stopping halfway through to lower his arms, hoping, perhaps, that Hibari wouldn't notice his pathetic lack of stamina.

The caviar 'roll' was carefully picked up in Hibari's chopsticks and graciously set down on Dino's plate before he continued with his own meal. He didn't make any comment about Dino, quiet and inwardly focused as he usually was during a meal. Hibird found his way through an open window as they ate and Hibari touched his head apologetically, having nothing to offer. The bird lighted to Dino's shoulder to beg there instead.

The Cavallone Tenth was only too happy to oblige the tiny creature, breaking loose a fingerful of bread crumbs, depositing them on the corner of the tray, tapping the wood invitingly. Not one to play favorites, he then passed a slice of apple to Enzio, smiling fondly as the reptile snapped hungrily at the fruit.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, apparently ill-content with the silence which Hibari typically found quite comfortable.

"Mm," Hibari assented. "Your estate is nothing, if not comfortable." He offered a bit of the leafy stuff from his sushi to Dino's turtle and the creature eagerly accepted that as well. "We'll begin reconnaissance tonight. By the time you're well, we'll be able to formulate an attack."

"Mm," Dino nodded, understanding. "That's good to hear." A beat. "Not too restless, yet?" He knew it was expecting a lot of the younger man, to see him wait instead of act.

Hibari considered this for a long moment and then shrugged. "The baby told me I should treat it as a vacation. I've never taken a vacation. I'm not sure what it means."

A chuckle met this announcement, and Dino waved it away when Hibari shot him a look. "No, no, it's just... well, I suppose I'm not surprised. What _do_ you do to relax, Kyouya?"

A blank stare met him. "Why would I have to do something to relax?"

"The stress of dealing with a never-ending string of herbivores?" Dino guessed, mostly managing to mask the amusement in the quirk of his mouth.

Hibari frowned -- but it wasn't an angry or an irritated frown. It was a thoughtful one, considering, as though Dino had said something infinitely wise. But then he shrugged a single shoulder. "I've never required a vacation before. But I suppose it's much more tolerable when I have the opportunity to bite some worthy people to death."

"Mm, quite so," Dino agreed, offering a lofty nod before returning his attention to the last of his apple. "Reborn is a clever man."

"So he is." Hibari examined the last of his meal for a moment and then set it aside. He slid out of his shoes and on to Dino's bed where he picked up Enzio and sat in his place, setting the turtle in his own lap. He squirmed briefly but with a finger rubbing the back of his scaly head, the animal calmed and settled against Hibari's slacks and didn't try to bite him. "Japan seems very far away."

"Are you homesick?" Dino wondered, eyes just a little wider, blinking as he tried to catch Hibari's gaze.

Again, Hibari considered this suggestion deeply and again he shrugged. "I'm deeply comfortable in my heritage," was his reply, watching Enzio's head turn just so that he would rub behind the wide head scales and at the softer skin of his neck.

"Well..." Dino hemmed, coaxed Hibird closer with a few remaining crumbs. "I'm sure I'll be well enough soon... Romario's made an appointment for a house call tomorrow. Just wait, the doc'll have me up and about so quick you'll -- well you'll hardly have time to miss your straw mats and bamboo fountains. Haha."

Hibari just looked at him from the corner of his eye for a long, drawn out moment. Impossible to read, impossible to tell if he was displeased or impassive or upset or just _anything_. Then finally he moved. He closed his eyes and he sank back, beside Dino, into the sea of pillows at the head of the bed. "I want to take a nap."

"You sleep almost as much as me," Dino teased, lifted a hand toward Hibari's face, but something stopped it, jerkily, mid-motion, and it dropped, like a bird shot from the sky, thumping lightly against the edge of Hibari's pillow. "Well, I guess it's not a terrible idea. A nap."

Eyes opened to look at the hand on the pillow, then focused beyond it, looking into Dino's face. So severe, so impenetrable even in this, as intimate a setting as they'd ever shared. "I'm supposed to be 'relaxing'. And you're supposed to be... not-dying."

"Mm," Dino agreed easily, nodding as he settled down onto his side, facing the younger man. "And is napping and eating all I'm allowed to do? I'm sounding more and more like one of your hated herbivores. Heh."

Hibari's expression didn't change. He met Dino's gaze evenly, on his back with his head turned to the side, Enzio resting on his stomach. "What would you rather do?"

"Spar, I suppose," was the more or less honest answer. "Conversation's a welcome distraction from the boredom of being bed-ridden. I might be up for a card game. Do you play poker?"

"No," Hibari replied. "You would have to teach me." He reached across the short distance between them and his long fingers touched Dino's golden hair where it fell across his cheek and the gauze that covered his skin. Just touched it lightly and let his hand fall away again. "Perhaps after a nap."

There was no hiding the way his face blossomed into a shade that hadn't graced his cheeks since teenage-hood, and Dino let his eyes drop, too late to avoid Kyouya seeing his reaction. "I... I could do that. Teach you, I mean. If you like."

The corners of Hibari's mouth twitched and before he realized it, he was smiling. It was a smug, self-satisfied smile. The smile of a cat when it loomed over a wounded bird. He looked away, settled in deeper to the pillows and closed his eyes. "All right." The smirk remained.

"Will you bite me to death if I roll over in my sleep?" Dino wondered, keeping his eyes open just a moment more, watching Hibari's face, almost relaxed, the smile not exactly unfamiliar, but rare enough to not want to miss a moment of.

"I may. If you wake me."

Hibird came to rest on Dino's pillow and settled there. Even Enzio, sensing the mood, curled in to his shell, a little mound of green resting on Hibari's warm stomach.

"Always so reliable," Dino joked, tucking his good arm under his pillow, looking around fondly at the strange little group, the odd sort of almost-family they made, the four of them. "Have a good nap, Kyouya."

In the following weeks, evenings spent out on reconnaissance with Tetsu helped to ease what might have been a very aggravating mixture of stir madness and homesickness. He complained to Dino in the daylight hours of the unseemliness of Italian bars and the perverseness of women on the street. The information they were obtaining was good though and his complaints weren't so deep as to suggest that he didn't want to continue the work. In spite of how noisy and talkative and touchy-feely Italian people were. To the best Dino could tell, the young man was experiencing a bit of culture shock.

Hibari didn't say anything when an imported tatami mat showed up on the floor of his quarters; he said nothing to Dino when the cook actually succeeded in making passable yakisoba. But still, the small gestures continued, Dino's effort to ease his old student into his temporary life in Italy.

He began spending more time out of bed, letting Romario and sometimes Hibari wheel him around in a wheelchair that had belonged to his grandfather. It made him feel awkward and old and he didn't care for it much, but it was better than being bed-ridden.

Hibari continued to visit him, unannounced, and though there might be a stretch of a day or two where he'd entirely disappear, when he returned, he wasn't sour. He would spend meals in Dino's room or on the veranda in the warm spring air. At times he'd let his spiny little hedgehog from its box for some practice. Dino watched from from his balcony when he sparred with Tetsu, his skills sharper than ever and evident even in a mock fight with a far weaker opponent.

He'd often cat nap in Dino's bed after a late night spying on the enemy family with Tetsu or Romario, usually after having lunch. A cool afternoon with a soft, fresh breeze blowing through the curtains and Dino woke to Hibari's hand resting on his stomach, the younger man on his side and peacefully fast asleep.

He hardly dared breathe too deeply, for fear that Hibari would wake and find some reason to accuse the Cavallone of impropriety, never mind whose hand was on whose stomach. So he just watched, entranced by how Hibari's face softened in sleep, no furrows in his brow, the hard set of his mouth relaxing enough so that his lips parted, just enough that his breath ruffled Hibird's feathers where the tiny creature lay nested into the pillow beside his master's head.

Long minutes passed, Dino's breath shallow, watching the face partially obscured by the tiny bird between them. Finally he let go of the moment and shifted to get up -- Hibari's visible eye flicked open with that first faint tensing of muscle. He had always warned that he was a light and dangerous sleeper. But he didn't lash out, didn't tense or jerk away or strike Dino. Instead he only met his eyes, not quite challenging but refusing to release the Italian's gaze for long, silent moments. And then finally, Hibari's hand moved and he rose with a long, graceful supine stretch. They didn't speak about it.

The accommodations that Hibari was provided were adequate, if somewhat overly lavish for the young man's taste. The odds and ends that Dino had ordered to make him feel at home stuck out like sore thumbs around the room. The tatami mats and the bamboo fountain and the tea table with a tea set painted with Chinese characters. The clashing of cultures and colors and time periods gave the impression of a cheap antique store. Hibari almost hated himself for feeling an appreciation for the sentiment instead of dropping the atrocious tea pot off the balcony.

That was one thing the place had going for it, though -- the balcony. The estate was sprawling, the rooms spacious and each of the larger ones had marble balconies that looked out over the vast gardens. Hibari found his time more often than not, when in his rooms, was spent there in the crisp spring air and the peace and quiet. Perhaps this is what Dino had meant when he asked what Hibari did to relax. That is, until the melodic chirp of his phone reached his ears, still programmed after many years to trill the Namimori anthem which Hibird perked to and started to sing along. Hibari frowned deeply when the phone informed him on its display, that it was 'Boxing Club' calling. He tucked the phone back in his pocket.

It wasn't more than two minutes later that his phone gave a chirp. And then another. When Hibari finally flipped it open, scowl dark on his face, "Boxing Club" had sullied his inbox with multiple text messages. _HEY HIBARI. ARE YOU ASLEEP? ANSER UR FONE_! Then, _WHAT TIEM IS IT IN ITALY_?

Hibari's face went lax, expressionless as he stared at the message. Since his arrival in Italy, Sawada had called him a few times to nervously check in on him and on the Cavallone boss, stammering on the other end of the line. Mukuro had also visited him in a dream once, trying to make annoying, nosy conversation about Hibari's whereabouts. It'd riled him into a fight that he woke up from in a cold sweat, out of breath. But in spite of the irritation and frustration that he experienced with both of these instances, he also found that they came with a certain amount of relief. Something familiar. Even if that something was Tsuna's stammering or the desire to shove a tonfa through Mukuro's ribs.

His phone began to ring again and he flipped it open. "Why are you calling me?" he demanded tersely. "It's three AM there."

"OH HI, you answered! That's great!" Ryohei's voice came through the line loud enough that Hibari had to hold the phone away from his ear. "ANYWAY, here's the thing! I tried one of these drinks -- Lussuria told me they were good. You remember him? He's the extreme boxer who's in the Varia. ANYWAY, this drink was EXTREMELY DELICIOUS. So I had twelve of them."

Hibari set the phone down on the thick, marble rail beside him. He didn't even need to put it on speaker. He considered pushing it off the edge of the balcony. The problem was, he liked his phone. Even if he didn't care for the voice coming out of it.

"So you called me," he observed flatly. Normally Hibird was interested when Hibari used his phone. Now the little creature looked at the shivering apparatus reproachfully.

"Well SEE, I figured you were the only person I knew who was still awake! YOU KNOW, since you were-- are in Italy which is, you know, extremely far away!"

Hibari arched a brow faintly. "You mean to say you've managed not to wake the entire base?"

"OH! See, I'm not at the base! I'm... somewhere." The sound of shuffling fabric and a long pause. "Ebisu district... maybe block thirty? THERE'S A SEVEN ELEVEN HERE."

Hibari sighed. "I'm going to assume that this drink was energy and not alcoholic so I don't need to get a hold of the bomber to do my work for me and administer a punishment for loitering drunkenly in the streets." Not that twelve energy drinks were that much better than twelve alcoholic ones, especially with someone like Ryohei.

"Yeah! Energy drinks! They were amazing! But the Seven Eleven said they ran out. BUT LISTEN. I called! I did. For a reason. But I forgot. OH WAIT YEAH. I forgot the number. To get a car. To pick me up. Do you know it?"

"For a cab?"

"No, no no. Like, a driver. YOU KNOW, _Family_." The stage whisper with which Ryohei tried and mostly failed to present this information was a nuisance, but most likely wouldn't key any passersby into the knowledge of the white-haired man's mafia connections. "YOU KNOW, someone who KNOWS WHERE THE BASE IS. I'm not supposed to tell a CAB that."

There was a long pause and then a sigh. "I see." Why exactly was he babysitting the Sun guardian from halfway across the globe? Perhaps because it was easier than coming home to whatever trouble the man would inevitably stir up in his 'heightened' state. Knowing Ryohei, he'd manage to stumble into some unknown enemy family's living room and start a fight. He picked up his phone and texted a message to Tetsu to contact a driver to pick Ryohei, based on the location he'd mentioned. "Someone should be on their way shortly. You can thank Tetsu later."

"You are the EXTREME BEST GUY EVER," Ryohei shouted his thanks.

Hibari put his palm over the ear piece. When he tentatively withdrew, he said, "Don't cause any trouble. Go back to the base. And don't wake the baby. Good night."

There was no answer on Ryohei's end, but Hibari rather suspected that the clatter and the creative cursing meant the boxer had dropped his phone. It was as good an opportunity to hang up as any, yet very nearly immediately after Hibari's phone clicked shut, it rang again, the same tune, the same number.

"Hibari! Haha, dropped the phone... anyway, there was something else I was going to say. I forgot to the extreme! So yeah, it was this. I think it's extremely awesome of you to be visiting Dino-san. He's a good guy, y'know? Extremely cool!"

Hibari blinked at the phone several times rather uncertainly. "It's family business," was his scowling response. "It would be bad politics to let an assassination attempt on the boss of an ally family go unpunished."

"Of course, I know that. But I mean, he's like... your mentor, too, right? See, I told that squid-head you had friends. Isn't that great? Being friends with your mentor?"

If Ryohei had seen the glare which he fixed the phone with, he would have recoiled in fear. Or perhaps he wouldn't have, all things considered. But the idea of those two herbivores discussing his private matters did not sit well with him at all. "He's not my mentor," Hibari answered icily. "Just because he acted as an opponent for me when I was younger doesn't mean he was my teacher."

"Well, then, I mean, isn't it cool to the extreme when opponents can become friends? It's like me and Luss-san! We used to be rivals and now I see him all the time!"

Well that was an unsettling comparison. "It's nothing like that," he replied flatly. "I'm only here because he's injured."

"Yeah, that's the only time the tako-head will admit he's friends with Yamamoto, too. Is when he's shot up or beat up. I get it. I think it's super great! He's probably extremely glad to have you there!"

Somehow, even he wasn't sure how, Hibari's scowl managed to deepen. "Stop equating me to you herbivores. And don't go back to the base and start spreading romanticized rumors, or the minute my plane lands back in Japan, I will bite you to death like you've never been bitten."

"Oh hohohoho, Hibari, my FRIEND. You know I would never go spreading around your private business." Hibari could almost hear the exaggerated wink in his voice. "But between you and me? You could have much worse... friends than Dino-san. You should hear some of the stories that Luss-san told me that he heard from Squalo-san--"

The phone snapped shut. And this time, Hibari found the power button and held it down until the phone chirped and shut off. He'd done his duty -- if the idiot needed further assistance, he could wake Sawada or his moon-eyed sister. Rankled, he sat back with his spine flat to the cool marble wall, one leg dangling over the edge of the balcony railing. When, exactly, had that testosterone-powered simpleton become so worldly? And furthermore, when had he decided to share

personal details of his life with Hibari? He shuddered at the idea of what the boxer might have done with that flamboyant okama. And that he would dare to draw any similarity between them was appalling. He would definitely cause the white-haired man some pain when he returned.

But technically, in spite of all of his protest and irritation... wasn't it true? That's what he'd come here for. He'd admitted that much to himself from the beginning. That it was some sort of... _feelings_ that had made him insist so shortly that he would be coming to Italy the moment he heard of Dino's infirmary. And yet he'd not managed to address this issue in spite of staying in Dino's house for weeks. The best he'd managed was some physical proximity. A few intimate touches which, as it was, breached Hibari's normal desire for a space bubble. He sighed faintly, petting Hibird's head when the animal landed on his knee.

Damn that blond. Damn him for the way his heart had silently skipped a beat when Hibari had learned of his injury. The way his mouth went dry with -- was it dread? And the way his blood boiled whenever he thought of the bastards that had made the attempt on his life. For two reasons -- for the attack itself and for planting that very first thought that had put all of this into motion. 'That's _mine_.'

But still, in nearly a month, he'd failed to secure that notion. Since when did Hibari Kyouya hesitate in taking something that he wanted -- something that he knew was his? He ran his fingers over the box weapon on his belt and frowned.

Perhaps tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned bright and early, though the curtains in Hibari's chamber were drawn tight and the room dark as a tomb. Hibari woke not to the thin stripe of sunlight trying to sneak across his floor but to the creeping footsteps that followed a path to the foot of his bed.

He was perfectly still, listening as the footsteps came closer, slowly, carefully. His fingers curled around the tonfa beneath his pillow, waiting for precisely the right moment...

And then there was a solid thump of a knee hitting hard wood and a familiar Italian curse followed by the sound of a tray and its contents very nearly toppling across the bedsheets.

Hibari jerked up, thoroughly startled -- so much so that he didn't put the end of his tonfa through Dino's eye. He did sit up in bed with the weapon in hand, glinting like a parody of dew in the morning light as he stared at the other man. He was balancing a tray in his good hand. If this wasn't the greatest potential for disaster Hibari had ever seen, he wasn't sure what was. "What are you doing?"

"Haha... um, good morning Kyouya. I was, ah-- well, I was trying to bring you breakfast." Dino's face displayed a proper expression of chagrin when Hibari switched on the lamp beside his bed.

Hibari looked at him strangely, tucking his weapon back under his pillow. "You do reali-- put that down. You do realize that you still have a broken arm, don't you?" He scowled faintly but it wasn't a particularly angry-Hibari scowl. With the threat of danger no longer looming, he was merely sleep muzzy. He'd warned Dino about waking him many times before.

"Ah-- yeah, thanks," Dino answered, bashful in that way that told Hibari he hadn't been thinking about his arm or his health at all. The Cavallone set down Hibari's tray on the bedside and after a moment of hesitation, settled on the side of the bed.

When Hibari's sleepy eyes turned on the tray beside him, his frown faded with gentle surprise. It was fish. He lifted the lids on the fancy, hand-painted Italian dishes. Miso and rice. A traditional Japanese breakfast. No sweet, sticky pastries or heavy breads or dripping jam and marmalade. The smell of it hit him and even Hibari couldn't hide his pleasure at it, a smile curling the corners of his mouth.

Dino's smile echoed his instantly and a small breath of relief escaped his lips. "Romario let me go down to the kitchen under my own power this morning. I thought I might be able to acquire something... a little more traditional for your breakfast. Luckily, the new assistant chef knows a good Asian market in the area."

"You still shouldn't be running errands," Hibari scolded airily even as he picked up the bowl of steaming miso (only dripping over the side a little after its near tumble from the tray) and breathed it. "But this looks very good." He paused for a long, thoughtful moment, and finally added, "Thank you." before sipping at the soup.

"Of course," Dino hummed in reply. "You've got a very charming smile, Kyouya. You should use it more often."

Hibari eyed him for a moment before taking the tray into his lap and picking up the rice bowl and chopsticks. It would be a shame for such a good breakfast to be allowed to grow cold. He took a bite of grilled fish and nori (real nori, not cabbage or romaine) before answering without meeting Dino's eyes. "I have been."

He could feel the Cavallone start in his seat without needing to look up. A quiet chuckle followed some moments later. "Well. You should know that... I count myself lucky whenever I have a chance to inspire it myself."

Hibari didn't respond directly to it but there was a strange, comfortable silence that followed as he savored flavors familiar to his tongue. They were silly gestures, all of them. The ugly teapot and the fake sushi. This was the most spot on so far, really. But there was something about it... that unwound a tightness in Hibari's chest, made him want to let his eyes linger on Dino when he fell asleep with a book on his chest, all disheveled and sloppy. It made him think of the

fire he'd felt in his veins when he'd made his hasty departure from Japan. And when he looked up in the dim bedside light and the warm glow of the curtains at sunrise, all of this swirled briefly in his eyes when they met Dino's. And then he looked back to his meal. "You must be feeling much better."

Dino's answer was to rub a palm, embarrassed, at the back of his head -- a gesture, Hibari presumed, he'd picked up in his time in Japan. "I'll admit, I've been going just a little bit stir crazy... I think Romario would like to see me stay in bed for another month. But aside from the arm and a little stiffness, I'm really okay. I keep trying to tell him."

"Hm." Hibari peered at him skeptically. "I suppose we'll be ready to complete that raid then, soon." He didn't sound particularly enthused, his voice flat and even and his eyes turned down when Dino looked at him again.

Dino blinked, clearly shocked by this display, or rather, lack thereof. It wasn't like Hibari to not be excited about a hit like this. It couldn't possibly be that he didn't want to hurry back to Japan? It wasn't even this revelation itself that was surprising, so much as that Hibari had allowed himself to be read so easily. "Well... the truth is... I'm not sure I'm up for something quite that... ah... strenuous, yet. I hope you won't be... too put out to have to stay a little longer? I know, I know, I'm as weak as an common herbivore." He smiled a little ruefully. "What can I say."

Hibari took a few more bites thoughtfully, his eyes so hooded they were very nearly closed. Then he shrugged. "It's acceptable." He turned his eyes up again then, finally and he smirked rather deviously. "You can't help being what you are, I suppose."

Dino chuckled, shrugged. "No, I suppose I can't. Cursed from birth, you might say." A beat. "Lucky for me, you're understanding." It was almost a tease, but the sincerity was evident.

There was a silent, faint smirk that lingered while Hibari finished his meal and sat back with the comfort of hot tea. "You've already eaten, then," he questioned.

"Mm," Dino nodded. "I had to try the miso, after all, to make sure you would be satisfied." There was that not-quite-tease again. Hibari felt him watching as he sipped the tea.

Hibari just gave a quiet "Hm." that was amusement and lofty approval in one. Then he set aside the tray on the bed side table and without a word, he moved to one side of the bed, tea still cradled in his pale hands.

For a moment Dino didn't realize that he'd been offered an invitation, but when he glanced up to meet Hibari's eyes and found only a slight raise of brow, he seemed to understand. Watching the younger man carefully, he stood and turned, climbing back onto the bed, beside Hibari, his shoulders to the headboard, legs stretched out before him. "Sleep well?" he wondered, ever casual.

"Mm," Hibari agreed. "Considering you live here, it's surprisingly peaceful, particularly at night. No unexpected visitors barging in. At least not until morning." Hibari's shoulder touched his and stayed there, lightly. The teacup hid his expression.

If Hibari saw the pink that bloomed across Dino's nose he said nothing and when the Cavallone spoke, it was with only some measure of hesitation. "I thought-- I thought maybe you'd walk with me in the garden today." He hurried on. "It's just that I'm dying to get out of this house for just a little while and Romario says you seem to like the gardens here and it seemed like maybe a good idea. What do you think?"

When Hibari looked at him, he thought that Dino suddenly seemed much younger than the twenty-seven years he had behind him. He looked more like the Dino that had driven Hibari mad in junior high. He forced himself not to smile for that. "That would be acceptable," he answered and looked down at the dregs of his tea. He eased just a little more against Dino's shoulder, letting some weight go there and felt strange and tense inside. Because he would have been content to stay like that for a very long time, instead of wanting to shove Dino away and kick him out of the room.

For a long, mostly awkward minute, neither of them moved much. Once or twice Dino's hand crept along his own knee, his eyes darting to Hibari's matching knee, almost touching his. Hibari set aside his empty tea cup and then there was no excuse left for the silence between them. Dino cleared his throat, shifted a little to turn his head toward the other man. Their shoulders moved apart. Dino licked his lips. "Kyouya..."

At his name, Hibari's head turned as well, meeting Dino's gaze with that impossible to read expression of his. Impenetrable. Then... hesitation. Distinctly. "I'll ready myself for the day. Tetsu and I are going in to town this evening for investigation."

"Ah! Yes, that's... that sounds great." The tension went out of Dino's frame, but the awkwardness lingered even as he slid from the edge of the bed, back to his feet. "Ah... I'll just--" He cast a glance around, as though looking for something. "Oh! Your dishes. I'll just take those back. Ah. So. I'll see you later." He took up the tray then, and gave a nod before turning and hurrying toward the door.

Hibari frowned after him but he said nothing as Dino almost tripped again, regained his footing and hurried out.

He took his time getting ready for the day. Another nice amenity of the Cavallone estate was the bathrooms which were as lavish as an upscale onsen. He was always pleased to linger in the steam and tile and hollow quiet that was provided there. It was mid-morning by the time he made his way downstairs, his suit crisp and perfectly pressed and tie neatly in place, shoes polished. He made his way to Dino's office where he knew the older man had been slowly catching up on paperwork after his intense convalescence. He let himself in without knocking.

"You requested my company," he said, good natured, when Dino looked up at him.

Dino fought a grin as he easily and happily set aside a stack of papers, flickering with a variety of flaming seals. "Yes, yeah, I did. And I'm more than ready for a break here." He chuckled. "I've got no stamina for paperwork even when I'm at my peak. Ugh." He stood then, and Hibari saw that he'd smoothed his hair, dressed in the suit Hibari hadn't seen him in since he'd arrived. "After you," he gestured, waving toward the door in his office which let out to a sitting area with steps down to the gardens.

The estate's gardens, true to any Italian estate worth its salt, were luxurious and sprawling. Creeping vines and gleaming pillars and shiningly white trellises. It was a different sort of garden than Hibari was been used to but he found that he liked it, even if it was as over the top as the architecture and interior design. There was just something different about the spilling and crawling of green life, up the walls of the estate and over the fences outside and brimming beside the paths and around the fountains that was appealing.

Out here, in the still of the gardens, they even managed a comfortable sort of quiet, Dino's shoulders relaxing and his step slowing to a stroll. It was some time before he spoke, eyes on the trees overhead. "I know it's different than the kind of gardens you see in Japan," he hummed, as though reading Hibari's thoughts. "But I think I know one thing that's the same. I thought maybe you'd like to see them." He grinned, led Hibari down another path, half-hidden among overgrown ivy ("I like it like that," he'd explained, much to the chagrin of his gardener) to a gate which Hibari had not found. He produced a key then, pushed it open. "Go ahead."

Hibari lifted a brow at him curiously. "Something secret?" he questioned but he allowed Dino to lead him on nonetheless. Arches boasted spring flowers overhead while the fingers of vines reached for the cobbled path beneath them.

"Not secret so much as valuable. I couldn't bear to see them vandalized or stolen. Come on." They crept down a cobbled path, as though sneaking into someone else's garden. Dino disappeared through a space between two walls and when Hibari caught up, he found himself standing in an open space, a small, well-kept grove, a semi-circle of towering trees. Cherries. "I know you're missing the viewing season in Japan... so..."

They were perfect. Bright pink blossoms floating softly on the gentle breeze. Healthy, luscious cotton candy clouds. Were it not for the clipped hedges and the ironically European rectangular pond beyond, they could have been out of a samurai film or painted in detail on a scroll or depicted in some girly anime.

An uncomfortable shiver tore its way down Hibari's spine. He'd long ago been cured of his Sakura disease but the memories of the weakness it brought up made his stomach clench. The smell of them was redolent of Mukuro's entrapment and made him think of the helplessness he'd never before and never since experienced. When Dino looked at him, smilingly searching for a similar reaction to what he'd seen over breakfast, he found Hibari grimacing faintly.

His smile faded instantly and he returned to the younger man's side, concern in his eyes. "Kyouya? What's wrong?" A hand hovered between them, halfway to Hibari's arm, hesitating.

For a long moment, Hibari said nothing but his grimace softened into a thoughtful frown. He looked not to the cotton candy or the pink snowflakes but rather his eyes focused on Dino's face and the worry and disappointment that was so clear there. So easy to read, just as much as he always had been. And as the seconds passed and the petals of sakura drifted around them, his disdain faded. So much like the ugly teapot still in his room, they were wrong. In and of themselves, unappreciated, unwanted, even uncomfortable. But it wasn't, he realized, about what they were but what they meant. This man had spent every day since he'd arrived, in spite of his own aches and pains, searching for some new way to make him smile. He didn't. But he did reach up, taking Dino's face in his hands as he finally did what he'd come to do. He kissed once the older man's mouth, slow and firm and lingering.

Dino's stiffened, his uninjured arm startled into immobility, reaching out for nothing as Hibari kissed him, though his fingers grazed the other's hip briefly. He was frozen, as though waiting for him to pull away with distaste, to pull out a tonfa and punish him for something. When the kiss was broken, he sagged forward, lips parted and flushed, and his arm finally found and circled Hibari's waist. A beat. Dino laughed quietly. "I wasn't ready yet," he protested in a whisper. "Can we try that again?"

Hibari looked at him curiously but only a little didn't pull away, the toes of polished loafers touching fine Italian leather. There was danger in this, of course. Although it was entirely possible that one of Dino's men had tailed them through the garden to keep an eye out. He realized he didn't care either way. Even if it might mean they somehow ended up falling into the pond beyond the sakura in a fit of Dino's clumsiness. Slowly, tentatively, as though learning to dance for the first time, Hibari's hands slid behind Dino's neck, watching his face. Inquisitive, questioning, curious were those eyes. Interested where there was normally characteristic disinterest. "All right," was his answer. He eased closer.

And Dino breathed, smiled, and pulled Hibari closer, dipping his head to reach the younger man's mouth, an answering kiss offered whole-heartedly this time. He was gentle, almost tentative, perhaps still expecting Hibari to change his mind and beat him about the head instead. But the kiss... that was sincere, the way his arm tightened around Hibari's frame, that was real, the way he sighed into his mouth, easing back enough to whisper, their brows still touching. "I've wanted to do that for a long time, Kyouya. It seems even now, you have more courage than I."

The set of Hibari's brow was out of place, furrowed deeply but his lips were... almost pouting. Pressed together, pursed just faintly. For a long moment he said nothing in response though perhaps there were hundreds of things that went unsaid because that's how he was. The 'I've wanted it a long time too but didn't know it'. The 'This is all new to me.' The 'Thank you.' What he finally said, very quietly was, "If you'd have died and left this in the air, I would have bitten you to death."

Dino didn't laugh, though it wouldn't have been strange to. Instead, he took another risk and kissed Hibari again, a quick touch, and another on his cheek , noses bumping. "I was foolish," he admitted. For letting this go for so long, for getting hurt in the first place, for pushing aside his own feelings in order to maintain an 'appropriate' relationship with his ex-student. "Forgive me, Kyouya?"

It was strange, looking at someone's face so close -- that is, outside the heat of battle, with no tonfa holding their attack at bay. But nonetheless, Hibari's expression relaxed slowly and he looked over Dino's features contemplatively. He eased a hand through the silk of golden hair, letting it sift through his long fingers slowly. The sakura were completely forgotten to instead examine the sincerity and emotion in the depths of Dino's brown eyes. He didn't answer

directly but instead kissed again, soft and experimental at Dino's mouth, everything new and unusual, with fingers buried deep in his hair.

Dino was only too happy to find Hibari's hands in his hair, on his neck, a gentle, considerate touch he'd never seen him offer anything but his bird. "Kyouya," he breathed, lightheaded and smiling again, rubbed at his jaw with a thumb. "Thank you for coming."

"Hm." He closed his eyes briefly as Dino's touch trailed his skin. "I don't care for this place," he said, not accusatory but rather simply matter of fact. "Show me the rest of the garden."

"Of course," Dino answered instantly, not asking for or needing an explanation. "Anything you want." And then, with little more warning, he took Hibari by the hand, as though they were school children, and led him out of the grove, back through the vines and out the gate. "Have you seen the maze yet? It's not very big, but there's a fountain in the middle. I'll show you."


End file.
